Racehorse breeders can teach the rest of the economy a thing or two

Yes We Can is a thoroughbred colt that fetched the top price of R3.8-million at Bloodstock SA’s 2022 August Two Year Old Sale at the weekend. The name is both witty – him being a son of Gotthegreenlight – and appropriate in terms of a new willing spirit in the South African horse racing and breeding industries.

The sale itself, at the TBA complex in Germiston on Friday and Saturday, surely reflected the upbeat tenor of Barack Obama’s famously inspiring slogan “Yes We Can”. The auction smashed records and continued the unlikely upward trajectory of horse sales in recent times.

It’s “unlikely” because the bullish trend runs counter to the dismal showing of the national economy – and, indeed, a slowing global economic picture.

A total of nearly R49-million was paid for the 231 lots sold, which beat the 2021 aggregate by 20% – even though there were 20% fewer horses bought.

The average per horse was R220,608, some 56% higher than last year’s figure. The median was also way up – to R140,000 from R90,000.

It begs the questions: Why are racehorses a buoyant market sector and what has racing got that the rest of the economy lacks?

The answer is hope and optimism.

Rescue mission

Of course, racing is founded on such emotions, but there is also a current sense that the industry is picking itself up by the bootstraps after a calamitous period. Operator Phumelela collapsed and Gold Circle was tottering, but the ships were righted by some judicious moves, with racing devotees Mark Slack, Greg Bortz and Owen Heffer putting their and their companies’ considerable resources into the rescue mission.

The key thing about this resurrection is that people have bought into it – largely because they see decisive action. The South African economy? Not so much; all hot air and communist claptrap.

Back to the sale, which has long been regarded as a value-for-money auction: The top lot was bred by the aforementioned Slack’s Wilgerbosdrift stud, while the second most expensive purchase (at R1.1-million and sired by Vercingetorix) was bred on her daughter Jessica’s Mauritzfontein farm. The former went to agents Form Bloodstock, and the latter to golfer extraordinaire Gary Player.

One other lot hit the million mark, a colt by reigning champion sire Silvano, bred by Gaynor Rupert’s Drakenstein stud and knocked down to … wait for it … Bortz.

Gotthegreenlight

If all that makes the racing business a bit of a closed shop, it doesn’t quite reflect reality as they were dozens of other consigners and bidders at the sale. Nevertheless, generally straitened times do mean the game is smaller and more reliant on mega-rich players than it once was.

Gotthegreenlight emerged as the leading stallion, with eight of his offspring grossing R6.75-million at an average of R843,750. Next on ethe list was rising star Vercingetorix with a total of R5.2-million for 12 lots, then Silvano with R2.8 for five.

Wilgerbosdrift was the top vendor with R9-million for 18 horses, well ahead of Varsfontein’s R5.2-million for the same number. Form Bloodstock topped the buyers’ list with R5.2-million signed for.

On the value-for-money angle, three horses were sold for R15,000 and another three for R20,000.